Ranibizumab for treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration was shown to prevent moderate vision loss over 24 months and to result in improved vision in some patients in the MARINA study.

Key Points

Las Vegas-Ranibizumab (Lucentis, Genentech) for treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) was shown to prevent moderate vision loss over 24 months and to result in improved vision in some patients in the MARINA study, according to Joan Miller, MD, who reported the results during Retina Subspecialty Day at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting.

At baseline, the patients in all groups had a mean visual acuity of about 20/80 and a mean lesion size of about four disc areas, she said.

The ocular safety profile of the drug remained excellent through the 24 months of the trial, and no new concerns about the safety of the drug arose. Also, no new concerns about the systemic safety of the drug arose through 2 years of follow-up. Monocular hemorrhage, including epistaxis and hematoma, occurred more frequently in the patients who received ranibizumab, but no dose response occurred, according to Dr. Miller.

The time course analysis of visual acuity indicated that the proportion of patients who received sham treatment and avoided moderate vision loss decreased steadily with time, and the majority of patients treated with ranibizumab avoided a 3-line vision loss over 24 months. Few sham-treated patients gained 3 or more lines of vision over 24 months. The proportion of patients treated with ranibizumab who gained 3 or more lines of vision, however, increased through month 12 and then remained steady to month 24, Dr. Miller reported.